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Penrith Panthers do battle with the New Zealand Warriors as the two teams clash in the first elimination final for 2018 on Saturday at ANZ Stadium.

The first team will be eliminated from the 2018 NRL finals series on Saturday, but who will it be as the Panthers and Warriors duel for a spot in week 2 of the finals?

Both teams come into this showdown on the back of winning momentum, with the Panthers snapping a woeful run of form to beat Melbourne away from home last week, while the Warriors made it two wins on the trot with an impressive dispatch of the Raiders.

With the head-to-head this season all square at 1-1 with both teams scoring 36 points in their respective home victories, who gains the upper hand on Saturday and keeps their premiership hopes alive?

Penrith have been under immense pressure after sacking coach Anthony Griffin while still in the top four, and after a run of three defeats, they now find themselves playing sudden death football instead of receiving a second chance.

A win over the Storm last week will give them confidence, but Melbourne arguably had one eye on the finals and were far from their best.

On the other hand, the Warriors are on a mini-roll heading into their first finals series since 2011, winning their last two games and playing some outstanding football to boot.

Playing away from home is a big disadvantage for the Warriors, but they’ve proven before they can go on a run out of nowhere in Sydney to make a Grand Final and they could easily do so again. It’s a really tough one to call as we just don’t know what we’re going to get from these unpredictable and erratic sides, but Penrith have generally been the more solid team this season and I think the can grind out the win.

Stats

Penrith won 36-4 in Round 17 at home

Warriors responded with a 36-16 victory in NZ in Round 24

Warriors haven’t beaten Penrith in Sydney since 2012

Teams

Corey Harawira-Naera (concussion) returns on the bench in place of Jack Hetherington for the Panthers, while Blake Green (calf) returns at five-eighth in place of Mason Lino for the Warriors. James Gavet is back at prop pushing Bunty Afoa to the bench and Leivaha Pulu to the reserves and Gerard Beale replaces Chris Satae on the bench.